A nurse is assisting with the plan of care for a client who is Rh+, at 16 weeks of gestation, and scheduled for an amniocentesis. Which of the following actions should the nurse plan to take following the procedure?

A. Apply light pressure to the inner canthus just after instilling the eye drops: Applying gentle pressure to the nasolacrimal duct (punctal occlusion) prevents the medication from draining into the nasopharynx, reducing systemic absorption. This technique limits the drug’s entry into the bloodstream while maximizing local therapeutic effect in the eye.

B. Wipe the eye from the inner to the outer canthus with a sterile saline-moistened cotton ball: Wiping the eye from inner to outer canthus helps remove discharge and prevent contamination of the conjunctival sac, but it does not reduce systemic absorption of ophthalmic medications.

C. Administer the medication drops directly into the lower conjunctival sac of each eye: Placing drops in the lower conjunctival sac is standard technique for ocular administration, ensuring proper drug delivery. However, this alone does not prevent systemic absorption through the nasolacrimal duct.

D. Wait 5 min after instillation before instilling the drops in the other eye: Allowing time between eye drops prevents dilution or washout between medications in different eyes, but it does not affect systemic absorption from the nasolacrimal duct.

A. FACES: The FACES pain scale uses facial expressions that correspond to numeric ratings, but it is designed for children who are typically 3 years of age or older and can cognitively associate faces with levels of pain. Infants cannot reliably use this tool because they lack the developmental ability to self-report.

B. FLACC: The FLACC scale (Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability) is validated for assessing pain in infants and young children who cannot verbally communicate. It evaluates observable behaviors such as facial grimacing, limb movement, activity level, crying, and consolability, providing an objective measure of pain intensity in nonverbal populations.

C. Oucher: The Oucher scale is a self-report tool that uses photographs of children’s faces to represent pain intensity, appropriate for children around 3 to 12 years old. Infants cannot use this scale reliably because they cannot interpret or select images to indicate their pain level.

D. Visual analog: The visual analog scale requires the child or adult to mark a point along a line to represent pain intensity. It relies on abstract reasoning and self-reporting and is not suitable for infants or nonverbal children, as they cannot understand or accurately use this method.